[–] DABBING_AT_AUSCHWITZ 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Yes I understand what you're getting at. People thought of making fitness gyms where the cardio machines would generate electrical power. It didn't amount to much. And the excess heat off your heater would amount to even less. Yes, there would be a BTU loss, obviously.
[–] pushthis [S] ago (edited ago)
I think they should have a gym with uva/uvb lighting, and 15% oxygen room. But thered have to be some special paperwork for legal protection in case someone falls out or gets skin cancer
E, who?? ''They"! Haha idk we
Ee, gun range in back and ammo sales. Wooooooooo!!
[–] Wazhappenin1 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
A 10kw generator needs 30000 btu an hour just like a WAter heater. But they are pretty big, the goal would be to miniaturize it so it would fit, both the furnace and the genny in the footprint of a regular furnace. You could reclaim some heat from the exhaust through a heat exchanger and a second blower fan, during the heating season. The testing requirements to gain approval for an inside 10kw generator or any generator would be arduous to say the least.
If you can make it quiet and convert to propane supply it with a Burried 500 gallon tank. During a collapse scenario You could keep the knowledge of your little energy system from curious eyes. Of course you wouldn't want to run any lights, just a fridge and a water pump.
[–] beefartist ago (edited ago)
This is probably the single most useful comment I have ever seen on Voat. In a collapse scenario how long can you run that kind of propane setup and what are the odds of being able to refill or convert to something else? I am not trying to poke holes I really don't have any context to compare that solution to anything else.
[–] Wazhappenin1 ago
500 gallons would last you a long fucking time if you are using it for a few things like a water pump and fridge. Lights would be far too dangerous.but you would have to bury it. Once it's empty it's done unless order is restored! You would need to procure a propane truck. Possible. But way to dangerous. But what a prize if you found one!
You have about 90k btu per gallon so that's 3 hrs at full capacity 1500 hours about 60 days. But that's cranking 10kw an hour. You could probably make 500 gallons last over a year if you are careful. If you are in full austerity mode which would be difficult with wife and kids much longer. The sound would be an issue so sound proofing would be imperative. Plus it's all for nought if you are forced from your home.
We use propane for cooking and I go through 20lbs which is 4.5 gallons in about a month. My wife cooks every single day every meal. So if in the good times a family of five uses 4.5 a month in the bad times cook once a day I could get 4.5 to last 3 months.
I use a small electric water heater to heat my house and when it gets below 20 I have a awesome wood stove! Got it for free! What do you use for heat?
[–] pushthis [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
For a propane generator, syngas or hydrogen can be supplemented.
Syngas from a gasifier or specialy designed woodstove. This option would best be implemented while heating an auxillary building, like a work shed or animal enclosure in the dead of winter. Syn gas could be piped in. I wpuldnt leave out a catylitic converter like modern pelletstoves use but pf course a bypass wpuld be needed.
For hydrogen one ought use magnesium hydride in pellet form in a 65-90maxpsi fiberglass(on site constructed tank) that can stay under the home but insulated from ground coldness.: the magnesium hydride acts much lile a sponge and 'soaks' up hydrogen while dropping in temp. This tank needs a PEX tubing circuit of hot water to increase the PSI asso it can be tapped/raise the PSI. This meyhod of hydrogen storage offers better safety and still great capacity.
Also petrol fuels with a carburetor change can run in propane engines,, or at least the oppisite case will
[–] undertheshills ago
Kerosene is the easiest fuel to make and can be made with a pretty basic setup and you can even pull it out of some plastic waste.
[–] Morbo 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Put more simply, a 10 KW generator would require more than 10 KW of mechanical energy input to generate the full 10 KW. There's no free ride in energy conversion. Also, miniaturizing the generator would drop its output. The size of the stator poles, windings and magnets have a direct relationship to the output power. Reduce any of these in size and you also drop the output. Physics doesn't compromise.
[–] Wazhappenin1 ago
Sure I used a 10 kW because that's the size I have it takes 34000 btu an hour. To run only a water pump and fridge and a few lights you could get away with a a much smaller one.
[–] Wazhappenin1 ago
Most furnances are somewhere between 150 to 200k btu. So adding 30k wouldn't be a big deal at all. Most gas furnaces are not modulating and modulating is the key to efficiency.
[–] QualityShitposter ago (edited ago)
Only problem I see is noise. Plumbing an external radiator from a generator into your house would be easy. Even better if it was plumbed into a concrete floor which would act as a giant radiant heat sink.
You would have a BTU loss because muffler exhausts aren’t designed to collect heat, but you’d gain the extra electrical BTUs. You could run the exhaust through a water jacket to collect some of that heat, though.
To me it would probably make more sense to run a coolant/water heat exchanger instead of/in addition to the radiator on a water cooled generator. The heat could then be piped to a hydronic heating system, or used to partially heat hot water.
Harnessing the excess heat from a water heater or gas central heating unit would be a bit more complicated as it is effectively external combustion. You could use some sort of thermoelectric device (Peltier), but that won't produce much power for the cost, or go old school and use an atmospheric steam engine, although that would end up being about as big as your house to get any sizeable amount of power out of it. You might have some luck with a LTD sterling engine, but again, they get quite large when significant power output is required.
[–] ScottRockview ago
Assuming one could do this while blocking the smell, siphoning off sewer gas and combusting it. A basically unlimited free supply. Not something I'd want in my back yard, but maybe an underground facility and just wire the power to your house.
[–] [deleted] 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
[–] pushthis [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Yes. I prefer a cone wedge, a mauler to drive it and railroad ties to hold open a long log while wprking down.. Then i follow up choping the long log(e, thats been split long ways)
My other favorite tool is a folding pull-back saw. These can cut a 12" tree down faster than a sharp full axe. But i use it for mainly 4" and more narrow and clearing brush from a ground surface(prior to setting up a tent, or clearing an area)
Two vertical trees close together or two trees fallen makes for a good ''treelimb break''(like a sheet metal break, i alude) and if available i try to make use of it. Its fun to try not fall and bust a big log with leverage and body weight.
[–] pushthis [S] 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
But really im trying to discuss this exact idea
[–] beefartist ago
Typical gamma cunt reply from that person. Everyone else understood the point of this thread
[–] awwisnotafarmpromise 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
You haven't lived until you've used wedges to get some planks out of a log to build something.